Postwar era of women’s styling was characterized by extravagantly romantic and uber-feminine fashion that carried on into the 1950’s. In 1947, Christian Dior declared that it was because women longed to look like women again that they adopted his New Look after the war.

“After the narrow, restricted styles of the war, the New Look was an explosion of fabric and petticoats – everything everyone had been denied all those years” said Babs Simpson, of Harpers Bazaar.

“Coming after so long a period of restriction, it was a kind of volupte” said Fancoise Giroud, of Elle Magazine.

The elements of the New Lookwere full, billowy skirts that fell just below the calf, narrow waists, and soft, distinctly feminine shoulders that required a significant amount of fabric – a signature look that marked a cultural shift in women’s couture.